It is not unusual to go into December without having had a really killing frost in the greater Washington DC area (which you sort of fall into in the most liberal sense).

My best indicators are my impatiens. A good solid frost turns them to black mush and I still have flowers on the ones in the ground. The ones on my second floor deck exposed to the wind show some signs although they aren't black yet.

Downtown Baltimore still has impatiens and bananas that haven't turned to mush. Westminster is colder and most things have succumbed by now.

When we lived in College Park, it seemed that the freeze usually hit by Halloween. I guess it would be nice to have a few more weeks, but was wondering how unusual that was.

Areas really close to the Chesapeake often dodge some of the early frosts. It's mostly due to the lower elevation- and sometimes you get the benefit of warm air coming off the water.

I live in Ellicott City and work in Annapolis. It's very common in the winter for me to leave from home with snow on the ground, and get to Annapolis 40 minutes later in rain.

It is a bit late for a good hard frost though, and leaf fall is way late. And it's going to be almost 70 today. Crazy.

I saw that warm forecast and was thinking we might be in December before we get a real freeze here.

My mom, 3 hours south and right on the water/Bay, has had several hard freezes on her farm.

I guess it takes a few years to get a fix on all the nuances of a new place. I'm still working on the light/shade patterns and soil moisture (trees really keep portions dry though limbed up enough that shade is not as large an issue as water is).

This has certainly been an unusual year -- cold spring, drought, and now an endless fall. Let's see what comes next. I have had a couple of light frosts, the bananas look a little mushy and the impatients (facing east) got it in the pots, I rescued the ones in theground and I think I'll have some next spring (doubles).

I've really been focusing on frost dates over the last several years, since I got into tropicals and have to make sure I get them indoors in time. I really think the overall trend has been towards later frosts. Used to be we got a good frost in early October, now it's often late October or even early November. Global warming? I was talking to a nurseryman who shared with me the old tradition - something about hard frosts coming around the time of the full moon? Never heard that one before. I don't track full moons, so I wouldn't know.

Definitely warmer here than usual -- I picked a "rose slug" off a leaf today.

Is anyone else worried their tulip bulbs will rot? With this warm weather and rains, I'm having that sinking feeling! Next year I might be cautious and do the brown bag in the fridge thing we used to do in Arizona, instead of planting them in the ground.

Juliat,

Can you share the fridge technique with me? I have a bunch of tulip bulbs that didn't make it into the ground yet. Thanks!